A1 · Pronouns · about 9 minutes
mij, jou, hem, haar: pronouns as object
personal pronouns in the object form
One form for “me” whether you see me or give me something — and for things hem, het or ze.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need13
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- kunnento be able to, can
- helpento help
- de bloemflower
- de brilthe glasses, the spectacles
- kennento know (a person, a place)
- houden vanto love, to be fond of
- versfresh (food)
- kopento buy
- brengento bring, to take (to a place)
- heelvery; whole
- het cadeaupresent, gift
- de bakkerbaker, baker’s
- Help!Help!
Practise as flashcards · 1Practise as flashcards · 2
Missing a word? Look it up in the dictionary
Understand
RememberOne form for the direct and the indirect object — hem for “him” in both.
- Signal words
- mij
- me
- jou
- hem
- haar
- ons
- hen
- hun
- ze
The form
The forms side by side
All the forms in one overview: first what each one stands for, then the form in Dutch, so you can compare them directly.
| me | mij / me |
| you | jou / je |
| you (polite) | u |
| him (also a de word) | hem |
| her | haar |
| it (a het word) | het |
| us | ons |
| you (plural) | jullie |
| them (several) | hen / hun / ze |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
There is only one object form, for “me” in both senses.
Kun je me helpen? Geef me de pen.Can you help me? Give me the pen.
After a preposition and in a contrast the stressed form is used.
Die bloemen zijn voor jou.Those flowers are for you.
A de word becomes hem as an object.
De bril? Ik heb hem niet.The glasses? I haven’t got them.
For several people ze is always right in conversation.
Mijn ouders? Ik bel ze vanavond.My parents? I’ll phone them this evening.
In writing: hen after a preposition and as a direct object, hun as an indirect one.
Ik wacht op hen en geef hun de sleutel.I am waiting for them and giving them the key.
Example sentences
Ken je Daan? Ik ken hem goed.Do you know Daan? I know him well.
Ik geef haar een boek.I’m giving her a book.
Wacht je op ons?Are you waiting for us?
6 more example sentences
Ik hou van jou.I love you.
Het brood is vers, ik koop het hier.The bread is fresh, I buy it here.
De kinderen? Ik breng ze naar school.The children? I take them to school.
Bel me even als je er bent.Give me a quick call when you’re there.
Kom je bij mij eten?Are you coming to mine for dinner?
De schoenen? Ik draag ze elke dag.The shoes? I wear them every day.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English also has “he” and “him”, so you already have the instinct; the slip happens in a hurry, after “and”, or when you carry over English “it” (Ik zie het niet about a key). Remember: whoever is seen, called or given something is hem — and a de word that is the object is hem too.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
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Your progress
What your lesson on this topic shows:
The lesson decides this, not a button: passed at 80% on the first try, mastered when you pass it again on another day.
Next on the path: 14 · Yes–no questions: Werk jij hier?Back to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Just as in English, Dutch has only one object form: “me” covers “you see me” and “you give me the book”. The forms are mij or me, jou or je, u, hem, haar, het, ons, jullie and, for several people, hen, hun or ze. Ik zie hemmeans “I see him”ik geef hem het boek“I give him the book”
Again there are stressed and unstressed forms. In an ordinary sentence you find me, je and ze: Bel je me morgen? When there is stress, or after a preposition, the full forms are often used: Dit is voor jou. Kom je bij mij?
For several people school grammar knows two forms: hen as a direct object and after prepositions (Ik wacht op hen), hun as an indirect object (Ik geef hun een cadeau). In conversation most people simply say ze, and that is right in both cases. English “them” makes no such distinction, so you can be relaxed about it. What is not standard Dutch is hun as a subject (hun hebben), even if you hear it.
For things the pronoun follows the word group again: a de word becomes hem (De sleutel? Ik zie hem niet.), a het word het, several things ze. So English “it” is not always het.
A closer look
Where the hen and hun rule comes from
The distinction between hen and hun is an old stipulation by grammarians who wanted to bring something like “whom” and “to whom” into Dutch — rather as some English grammarians insisted on “whom”. In conversation it has never quite caught on. If you are unsure, use ze — it is right in any position, except after a preposition, where hen sounds more natural.
Exceptions and special cases1
Exception
When someone uses hun as a subject
then that is spoken colloquial Dutch and not standard: in writing it is zij or ze.
Ze hebben geen tijd.They have no time.
Why? The form is very common in parts of the Netherlands, but it is not used in school or in texts.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
hem for things
The word hem stands for a man and for every de word: De lamp is kapot, ik repareer hem. An English speaker thinks “the lamp — it”, but Dutch gives a de word the same pronoun as a man.
Waar is mijn jas? Ik zie hem niet.Where is my jacket? I can’t see it.
Worth knowing
In Flanders
In Flanders you often hear u instead of jou as the object for “you”, even among friends: Ik zie u graag means “I love you” there. In the Netherlands u would be the polite form here.
Ik zie je morgen.I’ll see you tomorrow.
The verbs on this page, in every form: geven · hebben · wachten · kennen · zijn · kopen · helpen · brengen